Thursday, March 31, 2011

Give Away!!! Huntress by Malinda Lo

First off, the cover is fantastic. The artwork is pristine and sets the mood before the book is even cracked. According to yayayas.wordpress.com about 775 children’s and YA book covers for books that have been released or will be released this year. 80% of them had people on them. A full 25% of all book covers had white girls pictured on them, and 10% had white boys. Only 2% of the titles had African American boys or girls pictured on the front cover Don’t get me started, but this is a hot topic to discuss another time, needless to say the cute young white girl covers are tragically overdone.

OK I'm done preaching (for now).

The fantasy world of the Huntress is the same as her first novel, ASH, but in a different time period. It is a small group’s an epic journey to visit the Faery Queen and find out why the land has fallen into an endless winter. The two main girls have to grow up fast in order to survive the trip. I sensed the trouble they were getting into right from page one. Malinda’s writing style flows smoothly with great internal dialog.

MY FAVORITE PART:The magic! Malinda says, “The magic system in Huntress is based in Taoism and Chinese philosophy. I actually have a master’s degree in East Asian Studies with a focus in Chinese anthropology, so it was a lot of fun to dig out some of my old books and academic articles. I read additional material, too, about Chinese medicine, divination, and meditation. I probably could have continued doing research for a lot longer than I did, since I love it so much.” As quoted on http://yabookreads.com/blog/2011/03/29/interview-with-malinda-lo/ It is nice to know a fantasy book has research in it. It makes the magic real. Like Kung Fu Hussle.

MY LEAST FAVORITE PART: It was hard to attach myself to the characters. The book is written in an omniscient point of view. I felt like I had to spread myself between three or four people instead of just one. It made the romances hard to believe, not because one couple was gay, but because seeing it from both sides diminished the mystery of it. There is no anticipation when I already know what they are both thinking.

Photo credit: Patty Nason

It would be neat if Malinda carried on with her setting in another time with another set of characters. It’s a great way to gain a following.

So, who wants to win this book? Be a follower, tweet it, and buy my book (na, just kidding, but you could give me a vote on wattpad) then leave a comment.

About Me

hallililburn(at)hotmail(dot)com
I have gained control of my once unstable life so, if you want me to be more interesting, grab a shovel and dig up some dirt! But beware, whatever "booty" you find is cursed, so you'll have to sign a non-disclosure agreement first. Check out amazon.com/author/hallililburn